Cedar Rapids, Linn County | featured news

Before they divulge to the state auditor secret records involved in a huge $1.165 billion public-private partnership at the University of Iowa, attorneys for the Board of Regents this week sought cover from the Iowa Supreme Court.

Iowa on Friday reported 27,398 new coronavirus cases and 15 new, confirmed deaths, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

The city of Alburnett is considering not renewing its contract with the Metro Library Network. Alburnett will host a public forum at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall to engage the community in the decision-making process.The Metro Library Network, created in 1999, provides and shares materials and services across the Cedar Rapids metro area’s libraries.

CEDAR RAPIDS — Armed with a white Ford F-150 XLT pickup truck, a Keurig coffee maker, an assortment of creams and sugars and an enthusiastic attitude, Trevor Nicholson had already driven about an hour Friday morning to northeast Cedar Rapids.

DAVENPORT — Step off the elevator onto the third floor of the Figge Art Museum IN Davenport, and you’ll be face-to-face with a star of the museum’s newest exhibit spanning 200 years of American art.

DES MOINES — A mother and son from Iowa were arrested Friday on charges stemming from their alleged participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.The FBI said agents arrested Deborah Sandoval of Des Moines and her son, Salvador Sandoval Jr. of Ankeny, on federal warrants charging them with several offenses.

IOWA CITY — A housing development near Iowa City’s Hickory Hill Park did not get the support it needs to move forward in its present form.A request to rezone 48.75 acres of land near Scott Boulevard and First Avenue and adjacent to Hickory Hill Park failed by a vote of 0-7 during Thursday’s meeting of the city’s planning and zoning commission.

After a two-year review, the Iowa Utilities Board is forcing companies that provide phone service for county jail inmates to lower rates from as high as $1 a minute to a quarter or less.

CORALVILLE — A Tiffin man is accused of sexual abuse.According to Coralville police criminal complaints, on Jan. 9, 19-year-old Alexander B. Beckmann had sexual contact with a 12-year-old child.

DES MOINES — The Iowa Supreme Court Friday amended procedure rules to ban attorneys from blocking felons who had their citizenship rights restored from serving on a civil or criminal jury.